Mahabat Makbara and Bahauddin Makbara in Junagadh in Gujarat

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Mahabat Makbara and Bahauddin Makbara are located very near to the Sardar Patel Darwaza in Junagadh. It can be easily accesssed.

Bahauddin Makbara in Junagadh

Information on Bahauddin Makbara in Junagadh

First glimpse of these structures. They are truely beautiful. I have seen many tombs in the past , but these are nothing like them.
The tombs look like palaces. So beautiful that I couldn't stop myself from clicking their photos. Click the photo from any angle and it is beautiful.

Mahabat Makbara

Information on Mahabat Makbara

It the tombs are so beautiful, what will the palaces be like. I am speechless. Check out these photos.
A couple of bollywood movies are shot here.
Both the tombs were built in the 18th century.
A little bit of history about the tombs.

Inside Mahabat Makbara

Another view of Bahauddin Makbara

Artwork on Mahabat Makbara

Another photo of Mahabat Makbara

That's Me at Bahauddin Makbara in Junagadh



NOTE: Please click on the words in large font in the blog to read about them. 

Sardar Patel Darwaza in Junagadh in Gujarat

Monday, September 25, 2017

The Sardar Patel Darwaza is located very near to the Junagadh Railway Station.

Sardar Patel Darwaza in Junagadh

When we reached this place, it was currently under renovation. So we couldn't visit the structure from the inside. Scaffolding was placed all around the Darwaza. Maybe they were going to paint it or carry minor repairs works to the structure.

Sardar Patel Darwaza in Junagadh

The structure is beautiful. It look like a entrance to the city. If you observe, from the main door, one can see the Girnar Hills with the Girnar temple (in white) atop it. Good observation ha.

Atop the tower is placed a clock, though not in working condition even at this time the structure looked marvellous.

Sardar Patel Darwaza in Junagadh

The structure has a wall next to it. I was informed by one of the locals that this used to be the only way to enter the city a long time ago. Not sure how much of it is true.

Nail studded Darwaza of Sardar Patel Darwaza in Junagadh

It had a main door like most forts, the door was painted brown and had nails on it. Maybe they were used to stop the enemy elephants who tried to break the main door down in order to gain access to the city.

We then walked to Mahabat Makbara and Bahauddin Makbara located a couple of feet away from here. 


NOTE: Please click on the words in large font in the blog to read about them. 

Junagadh located in Junagadh district in Gujarat

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Junagadh city is located in Junagadh district in the state of Gujarat in India. It is located at the foot of the Gurjar Hills. Junagadh means Old Fort.

Sorath was the name of this Princely state of Junagadh. Junagadh became a part of India on 9th November 1947 after a brief struggle with Pakistan during the partition.

It was ruled by the Solanki Dynasty, Chudasama Dynasty, the Nawab's of Junagadh, the British and finally it came under the Indian law.

The city of Junagadh has many historical monuments present both within and outside its premises, keep reading to know more about them.


Junagadh can be reached both by road and rail. Buses from different cities and towns  in Gujarat ply here. The same goes with the rail transport. 

To travel within the city premises, one has to rely rickshaws and the state transport buses. (The fare of the shared rickshaw and  state transport buses is economical).  Chartered rickshaw will charge a bomb. Apart from the private vehicles plying within the city premises. 

Another thing I noticed here is that there are traffic signals but no one follows it, everyone seems to be in a hurry to go, so if you are . travelling on foot, please look in all directions when crossing the road, as vehicles can come from any direction. 

There are many stay options available, mostly near the Railway Station and Bus Depot premises, The costs of which I have covered in the earlier post. To read the earlier post click here. 

Junagadh city is a small town, the roads are filled with people.
One annoying habit with the men is that they love to chew tobacco and the spit all over the place. They will travel in luxury cars but will still spit, not only making the road dirty but also the doors of the cars. 

Most of the small shops here are fitted with CCTV camera. Even the shops in Mumbai don't have them. Either there are plenty of thieves here or they just love the new gadget. 

Breakfast comprises of Jalebi and Fafda. Jalebi being my favourite. Tea is the morning drink. During  the afternoons veg thali (unlimited) is available. In the evening the chat counters, corn counters, egg pav counters open up all over the place. Looks like the people of Junagadh like their fast food. Not to forget the fountain soda counters all over the place to quench our thirst apart from the juice center. Dinner houses are again veg thali (unlimited)
For our non vegetarian folks, no veg items are also available in certain parts of the city premises.  

Bus Trip to Junagadh fro Diu

Monday, September 18, 2017

After visiting all the places on our itinerary for Diu, we woke up around 530 AM the next morning as we had to travel to Junagadh but the 7 AM bus. 

There are very few options available for early morning breakfast near the Diu Bus Stand We had a cup of tea, and then waited near the bus stand for the bus to arrive.

The bus finally arrived around 7:15 AM. After haulting for around 5 minutes it then took off. 

We then stopped near the Diu -Gujarat border. The bus was checked by the police. They checked all the bags thoroughly as Gujarat is a no liquor state, carrying liquor is punishable crime.

As the journey was long,and we had nothing better to do, we dozed off. So most of our time was spent sleeping in the bus. Though were we sitting we still managed to get good sleep. I guess when one is tired, one can sleep in any position. 

I would not call it a nap, as we were sleeping for atleast three hours. We finally reached Junagadh bus stand. Now we had too immediate goals, one is to eat lunch as we had skipped breakfast and the second is to hunt for accommodation. 

We walked the streets, searching each hotel, starting from the ones near the Junagadh bus stand , moving to the ones near the Junagadh railway station. The tariff rates are very high here, compared to the ones in Diu. Not sure why so. We were not able to find any hotel within Rs. 1000 for two. 

Hunger strikes, we then decided to give up our search for a place to stay for the night and to eat lunch. We headed over to a small eatery near the Junagadh bus stand. 

Lunch was in the form of Veg Thali. The cost Rs.40 each. That is so cheap,compared to the Thali we have in Mumbai. As we were hungry, we decided to eat rather take photo of the good we eat. It was a unlimited thali, it comprised of roti, salad, two vegetables, chaas (buttermilk), dal and rice. All this just for Rs. 40, now isnt that a good deal. (this place was closed down when we left for Mumbai)

After having a good healthy meal, we then headed off on our search for accommodation. We got a place a few blocks away from the eatery. Hotel Ganesh. We finally settled for Rs. 1000 for two. As it was impossible to get anything within Rs.1000. 

We decided not to waste any time and hence decided to explore the places within the city premises.

Ogda Waterfall in Palghar district in Maharashtra

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Ogda Waterfall is located in Palghar district in Maharashtra. Directions to the waterfall are easily available on Google Maps.

One has to travel on the Western Express Highway, exit the highway at Manor, from there travel to Wada. From Wada one has to travel by the internal roads leading to Khodala. Ogda Waterfall is on the way.

The tip of Kohoj fort covered in clouds

 We comprising of Manohar, Dominic and Fathima decided to visit the waterfall.

That's us, Manohar, Dominic, Fathima and Me

We met up at Andheri (intersection of the metro line and the western express highway) around  6:50 AM. Stopped for a CNG tank fuelling at Dahisar and then headed over the Western Express Highway.

The sun was shining, not a drop of rain nor a rainy cloud in the sky. As it was the  month of July, we were hoping to have some showers to make the trip a memorable one.

Rain drops on the window pane

We traveled to Manor,  exited the highway and traveled on the state highway to reach Wada. It had rained here as the ground was wet also there was water accumulated on the side of the road, meaning that it has been raining heavily here.

Wet roads leading to Ogda Waterfall

I looked up in the sky, and saw us surrounded by dark clouds, so the rains were due anytime soon. With the rains, the view from the roads was scenic. Lush greenery all around, small water streams all over the place, muddy water accumulated all around and saw people farming too. It's been a long time, I have stepped in a farm. Maybe will do it in our next trip. I remember as a child, I used to accompany my Mom to the fields. 

Pond we located on our way to Ogda Waterfall

That's us at the pond premises

We crossed by Kohoj Fort, It took me three attempts to conquer it. Also do read about my camping trip at the Shelte Water Lake, at the base of the fort. This was my first attempt at camping. Hehe.

We travelled on the narrow and winding roads to reach Wada. Wada was packed with people, the narrow roads, filled with people made it impossible for us to drive through. Not sure why the roads are so narrow on a small town.

Ogda Waterfall

Fathima and Me at Ogda Waterfall

Nevertheless we decided to carry on to our destination, Ogda Waterfall.

It is advisable to, tag the places on Google maps at the start of the journey, as the phone looses network signals often. We had Vodafone and Reliance JIO SIM, but no network in the interiors of Maharashtra.  As the places are marked on Google maps, GPS helps you to know where you are on the maps.

A large river near Ogda Waterfall

It took us around 3.5 hours to reach the Ogda Waterfall (taking time spent at CNG fuelling and having breakfast ) into consideration.

Let me inform you, that the only way of reaching this waterfall is by travelling by private mode of transport. I hardly saw an rickshaw, tum tum nor ST bus while reaching this place.

A large river near Ogda Waterfall

Not many people are aware of this waterfall. Apart from the four of us, there was a group of locals, who were also there, they had had their dip in the waters and were busy preparing lunch.

An old bridge we saw on the way to the Ogda Waterfall

The water was flowing down a hill in a distance and so the flow of the water was a strong one, we decided not to get into the water but to sit at the banks so that we can wet our feet in the water.

Soaking one's feet in the ice cold water was relaxing to our feet. I wasted no time in soaking my hands and also washing my face in the water. I felt so relaxed. All the tiredness was long gone.

Fields

Manohar and Me love travelling to these offbeat places, as we don't like crowds and like to have nature all by ourselves. I have been to a couple of waterfalls before,  some crowded and some not so crowded. Here click on the names of the waterfalls to read about them. Bhivpuri, Palasdhari, Zenith, Chinchoti, Dhabosa at Jawahar and Kalote.

Farmer ploughing his field

Sat there while Dominic, had a good time in the flowing water, when then crossed the road and headed onto the other side, only to see a confluence of the water from the waterfall and a river flowing. The water was muddy, so we didn't venture in it, nor did we go for a swim in it.

Note: There is no provision for food and water here, so one has to carry it. We had picked up our supplies from the highway itself.

That's lunch

Khodala is a small town, a couple of KM's away, there is provision for food and water here. We were happy that we managed to get ourselves Chinese food here. It is a norm on our trips to have Chinese food for lunch and dinner. Though it is just 20 KM away it took us around 1 1/2 hours to reach there, as the roads are narrow and curvy and not in very good condition, but it offers a scenic view of the surroundings.

Another water body on the way

The weather suddenly changed and the rains set in. It accompanied us all the way back to Mumbai. We had to drive slowly on the narrow roads and so it consumed a lot of time and finally we reached Mumbai around 8PM.

That's us again

We had a good time in the trip, thanks to the rains, the weather was even better.